1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a document feeder to be applied to an image processing apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine or an image reader.
2. Description of Related Art
Automatic document feeders are conventionally known which are applied to copying machines and the like and adapted to separate document originals set on a document placing plate on a one-by-one basis and feed the separated document original to a copying position through a document transportation path. As shown in FIG. 11, a document feeder of this type typically employs a path 595 curved with a predetermined curvature radius as the document transportation path. In this case, a pair of registration rollers 596 for secondary document feeding are provided in an abutting relation at the vertex of the curved document transportation path 595. A document guiding member 598 such as of a sheet for smoothly guiding a document original to an abutment position 597 of the registration roller pair 596 along the curved document transportation path 595 is provided immediately upstream of the abutment position 597 of the registration roller pair 596.
When a cover 599 is opened for a jam recovery operation, the document guiding member 598 located immediately upstream of the abutment position 597 of the registration roller pair 596 hinders the jam recovery operation.
Therefore, the document guiding member 598 is movably provided in place. More specifically, the document guiding member 598 is attached to a distal edge of an arm member 601 attached to a main body pivotally about a pivotal axis 600. When the jam recovery operation is to be performed, the cover 599 is opened, and then the arm member 601 is pivoted so that the document guiding member 598 is retracted from the vicinity of the abutment position 597 of the registration roller pair 596.
However, this arrangement requires the special arm member 601 for retracting the document guiding member 598, thereby leading to a complicated construction. In addition, the retraction of the document guiding member 598 for the jam recovery operation requires a two-step procedure in which the cover 599 is first opened and then the arm member 601 is pivoted. This makes the jam recovery operation troublesome.